Rice-Crusted Vegetable Quiche

Had you been in my kitchen lately, you would have more often than not heard me mumble "if this is going to work, I'll be very surprised..." All this is, of course, due to my recent experiments in the field of gluten-free cooking and whilst making this quiche, I definitely had my doubts whether this would turn out to be anything edible. I did not have a plan B for dinner, however, so I'm very pleased (and relieved) to say the recipe did work!

I do love quiches every now and then, but I often find them too greasy. This is the first quiche base recipe I've ever seen that has practically no fat (part from a couple of tablespoons of cheese). By all means, if you have another recipe please let me know, as I'd love to try other versions too!

I've made this a vegetarian version, but as you can imagine, there is plenty of room for different variations. You could make the traditional ham & cheese quiche, or salmon & leek, or try different vegetables, really whatever you fancy or already have in your fridge. Whatever the filling, I can recommend trying this base because it really works surprisingly well!

Rice-Crusted Vegetable Quiche
(Recipe adapted from Sue Shepherd's
The Gluten-free Kitchen)

3 cups cooked long-grain rice, warm
(equals about 1 cup uncooked rice)
1 large egg
2 tbsp finely grated cheese (I used organic Edam,
but the original recipe called for parmesan)

Filling

2 medium sized zucchini, coarsely grated (about 200g)
2 medium sized carrots, coarsely grated (about 200g)
4 large eggs
1/3 cup light cream (I used lactose-free light cream)
150g grated (low fat) cheddar
3-4 fresh thyme sprigs
salt, freshly ground black pepper

Preheat oven to 170C and grease a 28cm quiche dish. Combine the cooked rice, egg and cheese in a bowl. With wetted hands, press the rice mixture into the base and the sides of the quiche dish. Bake for about 20 minutes or until lightly coloured.

To make the filling, squeeze the extra water off the grated vegetables. In a large bowl, beat the eggs lightly, and add in the cream and the cheddar. Add the vegetables and season with salt, pepper and thyme. Pour into the rice crust and bake for 20-25 minutes or until well set. Leave to cool slightly and serve warm with fresh salad.

Quiche ready to go back in the oven

Happy Weekend!